Liu Shaoming
Let the indifferent laugh at my ignorance and kind-heartedness! Low and worthless as I am, I am still throwing myself forward for freedom!
Liu Shaoming is a labour activist from Jiangxi Province. After three decades of working in several positions across China’s industrial sector, in 2014, Liu Shaoming began advocating for workers’ rights and welfare. Keenly focused on access to justice for labourers, the defender became an adviser to victims of labour abuses and frequently monitored labour rights hearings and trials. The defender has spoken out during labour disputes, notably on behalf of cleaners of academic facilities and striking shoe factory workers. He also helped to establish the “Labour Defense Volunteers”, a labourer assistance group he served until his arrest in 2015.
Human rights defenders in China work in an extremely hostile environment and under President Xi Jinping they have seen the space in which to operate further restricted. Chinese HRDs are active in many spheres, and they include lawyers, journalists, academics, transparency campaigners, housing and land rights activists, bloggers, writers, HIV/AIDS activists and those promoting the rights of ethnic minorities. Regardless of the issues they work on, HRDs who highlight abuses, challenge the authorities or network to support detained colleagues all face reprisals from the government. These range from almost daily harassment and intimidation of family members to detentions, disappearances, torture and imprisonment.
